Star Trek: Bonaparte, Nightmare in the Clouds
by JJAndrews
Summary: Episode 2: As their voyage in this new galaxy begins, the crew of the USS Bonaparte discover an ancient structure in a gas giant and they set out to investigate it, not realising that within is an ancient source of evil which will force the crew to face the darkest depths of their souls.
1. Chapter 1

Star Trek Bonaparte

I own nothing but my OC's

Episode Two

Nightmares in a Cloud

Chapter One

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star ship, Bonaparte. It's ongoing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.

_Captain's Log, star date 54231.1. Our journey in this new galaxy has begun, our mission to transport supplies to the Carlina System went without incident and we were paid well in the local currency of Imperial Credits. Since then we have been travelling from system to system for more possible work while Commander Sunik and his scientists work on ways to get us home. However, without Doctor Shemmer this task is extremely difficult._

'So there is no transport work that the local governor has for us?' Lewis asked Woods and Sunik, the three of them sitting in his living room, Harry the Collie on the floor in front of Lewis's armchair.

'It is regrettable sir,' Sunik responded. 'Governor Morlo claimed that our ship is too heavily armed for a cargo ship and it will attract too much attention. His response had some logic to it.'

'That and the local cargo runners have an unofficial monopoly,' Woods stated and then drank some tea. 'Sir, I was talking to Megan earlier and she says that if the crew isn't given a mission soon, morale is going to hit the bottom faster than the Titanic.'

'Titanic?' Sunik asked her.

'Look it up. There's a moral to the story.'

'I am sure there is.'

'Anyway,' said Lewis, 'I think that our Counsellor is right. We need something to do.'

'I believe I may have a solution,' said Sunik.

'A five hour Vulcan poetry jam?' Woods asked with a smirk.

'No. Before I came to this meeting I noticed that there was an uninhabited system close by with several gas giants. They may contain valuable materials which we can use for trade and repairs to the ship. If we organise a survey and mining mission it would give the crew something to do other than basic maintenance.'

'How long will it take to get there?'

'Four hours at Warp Eight.'

'We'll set a course then. If that's all, I'll take little Harry here for a walk on the holodeck.'

At the "W" word Harry sat up and looked at Lewis with excited eyes.

'Anywhere nice?' Woods asked him.

'Penshaw Hill,' he answered and at her clear expression of not knowing the meaning he explained. 'It's a place in the north of England, my mum took me there when I was a kid.'

'I hope you enjoy it.'

'I'm sure we will,' he responded.

…

About half an hour later Lewis, wearing a thick tweed coat, flat cap and walking boots, hiked up a hill on the holodeck, Harry just in front of him on a leash. He had this programme made specifically for taking Harry on walks and he had specified that it was to be fairly cold with strong wind. For Harry though it didn't matter, he loved the feeling of the grass, the wind and the air. It was fake but not to Harry. Lewis looked up to the top of the hill at the large Roman temple on top of the hill. It wasn't really Roman, if he remembered right it had been built in the Victorian era, but he still thought it looked nice.

'Alright Harry,' Lewis said to his dog as he took him off the leash and removed the holographic tennis ball from his pocket. 'Fetch.'

He threw the ball as hard as he could and he watched as Harry raced after it, kicking up tufts of grass as he went. That was when he heard someone approach him from behind so he turned to see Armando Kruge of all people approaching him.

'Sorry about the weather,' he said loudly over the wind.

'Your ship's full of surprises.'

Harry then returned to Lewis, the bright green ball in his jaws and then he dropped it in front of Lewis.

'Good boy,' Lewis said and stroked him before picking up the ball and throwing it again. 'How can I help you Mister Kruge?'

'I understand that we'll be performing a mission to locate resources. I want to volunteer for it.'

'Why?'

'My ship's sensors may be better for scanning in this galaxy, they're more familiar with local minerals.'

'I see what you mean. Alright Mister Kruge, you can join the mission.'

'Thank you.'

He then turned to leave, heading towards the holodeck doors nearby, Lewis watching him and considering if he did the right thing in agreeing to let Kruge onto his ship. He had no idea of the mans past, only that he was looking for someone, and that, if crossed, he was a dangerous enemy

…

Commander Woods walked through Hanger One, a large chamber which took up two decks, each one housing banks of Type 12 shuttles. There was also Kruge's slightly haphazard looking ship which he was in the cockpit of, looking over the controls while his droid carried out basic maintenance. Dozens of crew members moved around the shuttles, checking on the shuttles before they would head out.

'Alright,' she said loudly and a crowd soon gathered around her while she looked at her data pad. 'Shuttles, One, Two, and Three will head out as well as Kruge's ship. Shuttle One's crew is me and Ensign Purs, Two, Lieutenant Clarke and Ensign Morris, Three, Lieutenant Marseille and Ensign Rodney. The gas giant we will be surveying is producing a great deal of interference so our sensors can't get a solid lock on anything but there appear to be traces of potentially useful gasses. Today we will be locating them and tomorrow we will attempt to harvest any. To your shuttles. Good luck ladies and gents.'

At that the assigned crews rushed to their shuttles, the sleek looking vessels soon occupied by their crews, making Kruge's look very out of place. Woods took her place in Shuttle One, the right hand seat, while Ensign Purs, a Trill officer, took his place next to her.

'All systems online,' he said to her. 'These shuttles are damn effective.'

'Yeah I know,' she responded as she set the controls ready and tapped her comm badge. 'Captain, this is Woods. Request permission to head out.'

'_Granted,' _Lewis responded.

'Thank you, sir,' she then switched to all of the other shuttles. 'Head out as soon as the doors open.'

As she said it the hanger opened and she piloted her shuttle out, followed by the others and then Kruge's vessel last. Piloting a shuttle was something she enjoyed doing although her favourite job was taking command of the Chiton. When they made it back to the Federation she hoped that she would get a go at the bug seat properly. If she had to choose she hoped she would get permanent command of perhaps a Galaxy Class. They were getting on a bit but with the recent refits they were still powerful ships. A Sovereign would be a good command but for a first time captain that would be unlikely. That said she had heard that Starfleet was preparing a new design of smaller warship to fully take the place of the Miranda Class.

'How's morale from your perspective?' she asked Purs.

'It's not bad,' she responded. 'Could be a lot better though.'

'Being trapped in another galaxy isn't good for keeping up the good mood,' she dryly responded. 'For an Ensign you're quite straight forward.'

'One of my previous hosts was a Captain,' he responded.

'I didn't know we had any joined Trill on board.'

'You didn't?'

'No I didn't. So, what body are you on now?'

'This is my fifth host. My first one became a Captain, the second was a relief worker, third was a lawyer, number four was a historian and now I've decided to go back to the fleet.'

'And it got you stuck in in another galaxy.'

'I'm not disappointed,' was his response and when he saw Woods's curious look he explained. 'If what happened to Voyagers crew when they got back this trip means instant promotion.'

'There's one way of looking at it,' Woods chuckled. 'Captain Jessica Woods has a ring to it.'

'I suppose it does. Besides, the point of becoming a host is to experience new things. We're coming up on the gas giant now.'

She looked up through the front window and saw the large red and purple sphere ahead, she switched on her sensors and began scanning as they entered the clouds.

'So far we are picking up some traces of highly charged plasma, could be dangerous if we let our shields down.'

'We'd best keep them up then. Commander, I can see there are solid objects in here as well. Wow, some of them are solid blocks of dilithium.'

'Excellent. I'm picking up something else, it's solid but not dilithium.'

'You're right. It looks like it's made from a mixture of granite, steel alloys and marble. It's structure contains perfect angles.'

'In other words it's not natural.'

'Basically yes.'

'I see,' she then flicked a switch to open the comm unit. 'Mister Kruge can you hear me?'

The screen just off to the side switched to life and there she saw Kruge, sitting in his cramped cockpit.

'What's going on?'

'We're picking up some sort of artificial structure in here. I'm sending you the coordinates now. If you recognise it can you let us know?'

'Of course,' he responded, and the screen turned off.

Woods set the shuttle towards the structure, finally they entered visual range.

'Odd,' Woods said when she saw it through the clouds.

The structure was massive, made up of two extremely tall and narrow pyramid like structures and some sort of complex between them, linking them together. It was all on a plain which looked like it had been scooped off the surface of a planet.

'Do you think it was taken off a planet and taken here?' asked Purs.

'I'm not sure,' she answered. 'According to our sensors the structure is air tight. It was built to be in here.'

'So they built it on a planet and towed it here?' asked Purs. 'Why not just build a space station?'

The screen activated again and it was Kruge,

'Commander I can see it and it's not new. It's a style of building that was command around five thousand years ago, maybe even before.'

'Damn, that's a long time ago.'

'I know. There's some sort of landing platform, I'll try to land.'

'No,' Woods ordered him. 'It might not be safe, we'll perform further scans and then head back to the Bonaparte when we've finished our mission.'

'Very well.'

…

'So we have a mystery in the gas giant?' Lewis asked Woods and Kruge, both of them sitting opposite him in his ready room.

'Apparently so sir,' Woods told him.

'Our scans suggest that there is a stable oxygen field inside the structure and there is an airlock connected to the landing platform.'

'Are you planning on an expedition?' he asked her with a grin.

'That's what we want,' Kruge told him. 'I am an archaeologist.'

'Really?' he asked, now he was surprised.

'I know but it's true.'

'How did you go from archaeologist to gunman?' Woods asked him.

'It's a private matter.'

'Very well,' Lewis ended it. 'You have permission to lead an away mission to this, structure. Good luck.'

'How many members?'

'As many as you need. Good luck.'


	2. Chapter 2

Star Trek Bonaparte

I own nothing but my OC's

Episode Two

Nightmare in the Clouds

Chapter Two

Due to the interference from the planets gasses and elements they were unable to transport down to the structure so they had to go via runabout. For this mission, Woods selected an away team made up of herself, Purs, Winn, two of his marines for security, Doctor Mainwaring and Kruge. Purs was in the pilots seat while everyone else put on their space suits. Kruge didn't need one though, his suit of heavy armour could withstand the pressure and had an oxygen recycler. Woods did envy him on that, she found the Starfleet issue space suits to be bulky and annoying, although they were highly advanced and on the belt was a transporter buffer device which could store a limited amount of extra equipment. When she put her helmet on she sealed it shut and activated the comms unit.

'Everyone hear me?' she asked and everyone did confirm it. 'Okay. Purs, eta to touch down.'

'Any second now,' he answered. 'I'll stay here and keep in contact with you.'

'Good to hear. Everyone else, this is an analysis mission. We get in there, we check for anything interesting and then do a proper survey. Everyone clear on that?'

'Of course,' Winn answered her.

'Good.'

The runabout shook slightly as it touched down.

'Remember to check in with me every five minutes,' Purs told them.

'We will, don't worry.'

They then proceeded to the exit airlock of the runabout and moved into it, closing the door behind them, and then they marched out onto the surface of the structure, Woods feeling dread as she looked up at the two massive pyramids. They were made of black stone and, mixed with the clouds, everything looked evil, that was the only word which could describe it.

'Okay team,' she said, 'forwards.'

They moved slowly across the ground towards the triangular shaped airlocked ahead of them at the base of one of the pyramids.

'This place looks like a cheap horror holo novel,' Manwaring commented.

'I wouldn't call it cheap,' Kruge told her. 'The style of this building is thousands of years old. At the time to move it would have taken a lot of effort, Doctor.'

'Why didn't they just build a space station?' Mainwaring asked him.

'It might be religious,' suggested Winn. 'Trust me, faith can push people to do anything if they put their mind to it.'

'Possible,' Kruge agreed. 'We need evidence first though.'

They reached the airlock and Woods scanned it with her tricorder.

'It's unlocked,' she said and reached for a lever, pulled it but it wouldn't budge.

'Let me,' said Winn and he pulled it as hard as he could but it only moved a few centre meters.

'Me,' said Kruge and he aimed his right arm at the lever.

'What are you doing?' Woods asked him.

'My suit has an in built tractor beam,' he explained.

As he said it a jet of bright blue light launched from his armoured wrist and engulfed the lever. Slowly it was pulled down and then the airlock opened.

'Everyone in,' Woods ordered and a few moments later they entered the structure.

If she had felt nervous looking at it from the outside, the inside made her feel physically ill. It was dark, the floors and walls made from black marble, every surface covered with intricate harsh and geometric carvings. It was not just dark in the sense that there was almost no light, rather it was a darkness which sucked in the light itself, leaving nothing behind but shadow.

'Oxygen levels normal,' said Mainwaring, looking at the readings on her tricorder.

'Good,' said Woods, gladly removing her helmet and placing it in in her belt mounted transporter buffer. 'I hate those things.'

'Here, here,' agreed Winn.

Kruge removed his own helmet and attached it to his belt.

'Let's take a look around,' he said and they slowly moved through the building.

…

Back on the Bonaparte, Captain Lewis stood in Hanger One, as several shuttles crews began to unload crates of the minerals they had located. While the centre of what they were doing was in the expedition to the unknown building, they were continuing the mining operations and so far they had met with success, finding dilithium and significant amounts of useful gasses which could be turned into plasma.

'Excellent work,' Lewis said loudly to several of his crew members as they got out of their shuttle.

'Thank you sir,' one of them, a Lieutenant, said in response.

'Captain,' Sunik said to him as he approached, data pad in hand, 'the gas containers have taken up ten percent of Cargo Bay One's space.'

'Excellent. When Kruge gets back we can get an idea of its value.'

'The use of money in this galaxy is likely to cause confusion to members of our crew.'

'Shame we couldn't bring a Ferengi or two along with us.'

'Have you ever dealt with Ferengi?'

'No I haven't, well, except for meeting Captain Nog once.'

'Now your statement makes sense.'

'So, has there been any word from Woods?'

'None, due to the interference around the structure it is highly difficult to receive a signal from them.'

'I see. Well, let's hope that they find something interesting.'

…

Inside the building, Woods was looking at some carvings, they seemed to depict a battle of some type, hundreds of warriors were carved into the stone wall, battling each other with swords while above them what she thought were star ships were duelling in the sky.

'What do you think of this?' she asked Winn.

'It's a bad idea to bring swords to a gunfight,' he dryly answered.

'Tell that to the Klingons,' was her answer.

They both chuckled for a moment as Kruge examined the images.

'I don't understand this though, if both sides can use star ships why are they still using swords?' Woods asked Kruge.

'There have been times in history when wars have gone on for so long that both sides technology degrades to the point that they're using basics,' he answered.

'When you're at war for decades you just use what you can,' Winn added.

'Do you have experience at that?'

'My people fought a rebellion for years against the Cardassians.'

'Did you win?'

'They withdrew from Bajor eventually.'

'As long as you're willing to fight you can go on forever.'

'I think that's the motto of Bajor.'

'Look at this,' Woods interrupted them, pointing to a figure on the wall, twice as tall as all the others and with far more detail.

The carving itself seemed to depict a warrior clad in armour and robes, she was standing tall and proud, her finger pointing forwards and her warriors marching into battle.

'I saw another carving of her,' said Winn.

'Where?'

'Near the entrance.'

'I saw a statue that looked like her in another room,' said Kruge. 'This whole place might be a monument to her.'

'Who was she though?'

'We need to find an inscription,' he responded. 'I'll go an check on Mainwaring and her team. They might have found something.'

Woods watched the large man walk off, his armoured boots thudding against the stone floor.

'Who are we dealing with here?' asked Woods as she looked at the carving.

'Some sort of warrior, a leader or a warlord. It's hard to judge.'

'What was this place? Her monument, her tomb?'

'If it's a tomb we have to be careful to not disturb anything.'

'Agreed. I always thought there was something weird with taking stuff from tombs.'

'You're right. Wait a minute, I've found another carving of her.'

This one was on another wall, another depiction of a battle and this time the warrior woman was fighting against a man who had stabbed her through the heart.

'Her death,' Woods concluded and then looked at the warriors carved feet and then her eyes went wide. 'An inscription.'

She saw carvings below the woman and, although she didn't know what they meant, she knew they were words. Woods tapped her comm badge.

'Woods to Kruge.'

'_Kruge here.'_

'We've found another carving of the woman, and there's writing on it.'

'_Run it through your universal translator. I'm helping Mainwaring with something. Read it off as it comes through.'_

'Okay,' Woods pulled her translator off her belt and scanned the writing before waiting for a moment for the translator to work. They had added galactic basic to it, thanks to Kruge's computer, which should have sped it up. At last it beeped and the screen on the translator read "Translation Complete". 'Alright Kruge, we've got it. It says, "Peace is a lie, there is only Passion. From Passion I gain Strength, From Strength I gain Power, from Power I gain Victory. From Victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." What the Hell does that mean?'

'_We have to get out of here,' _Kruge said loudly. _'Now!'_

**AN: DUN, DUN, DUN! And the crew of the Bonaparte have their first encounter with the Sith. **

**Dante Yn: Personally I prefer the Soveriegn Class in design, but I do have a soft spot for the Galaxy. Those ships are beautiful.**


	3. Chapter 3

Star Trek Bonaparte

I own nothing but my OC's

Episode Two

Nightmares in a Cloud

Chapter Three

Woods and Winn looked at each other, clearly confused at Kruge's sudden panic.

'What's wrong?'

'_We just have to go. This place is dangerous.'_

'How?'

'_I'm your advisor now listen to me! RUN!'_

Just as he said that, Woods felt a strange rumbling noise as if the building itself began to shake.

'Let's go,' said Winn, his voice as calm as possible, it was clearly the same voice he used when going into combat.

The two of them ran as quickly as they could towards the other group, almost colliding into them in a corridor.

'What's going on Kruge?' she shouted at him.

'This is a Sith tomb.'

'Sith?'

'I'll explain when we're out of here.'

Before they could even move a great groan filled the air as the corridor they were in shook harder than before and a great slab quickly began to descend at the end of it, leading to the front door.

'Run!' Kruge shouted and led them as they raced to get out but it was no good.

By the time they reached it the gap between the floor and the slab was only a few inches. When it hit the ground a great clang filled the air, a long noise which seemed to portent doom.

'Damn,' Kruge cursed and looked at Woods. 'It's not your fault.'

'Why would I think it is?'

'It only started after you read that damn inscription. You couldn't have known.'

Woods nodded her head and looked at the two marines.

'Try to cut through this door. We need to get out of here.'

'Understood,' one of them said and they both aimed their phaser rifles at the slab and fired.

The golden beams impacted against the slab and sparked brightly, so bright that Woods had to look away until, at last, they stopped and she looked again only to see that there was not a single dent in it.

'How the Hell?' asked Mainwaring.

'Your tricorder,' Kruge said and she handed it to him.

After a few seconds of scanning it he shook his head.

'Bad news?'

'Very bad. It's dura steel but Mandalorian Iron is worked into the alloy. We'll need a torpedo to get through it.'

'Damn,' Woods muttered and tapped her comm badge. 'Woods to Purs.'

'_Purs here. What's going on?' _the officer on the runabout responded.

'We triggered some sort of a booby trap. A doors trapping us in here. According to Kruge we'll need a torpedo to get through it. Return to the Bonaparte and get an engineering team to get us out of here.'

'_Commander, it won't do any good. Some sort of forcefield has surrounded the structure. I can get away but we can't get to you.'_

'Can you identify the source of the forcefield?'

'_Yes. It's located at the top of the right hand side pyramid.'_

'In that case, let's get going. It will take us a while to get there so I want you to get out of the interference area and inform Captain Lewis what's happened. I still want an engineering team when you return.'

'_Yes Commander. Good luck.'_

'Alright folks,' she said to her officers as they all looked to her for leadership. 'We head for the shield generator, get it offline and then return here. Kruge, I need answers. What is this place?'

'A Sith tomb.'

'What's a Sith?' she asked as they started walking.

'The Sith are an ancient order of warriors. There have been many times in history when they have fought bloody wars for rule of the galaxy.'

'And this tomb belonged to one of their leaders?'

'Almost certainly.'

'Which one?'

'I have no idea. The Sith had many rulers, and they were practically a feudal group, this could belong to any of hundreds of their rulers.'

'Why is this tomb in a gas giant though?' asked Mainwaring.

'The Sith have no concept of respecting the dead. They have a tradition of searching the tombs of Sith Lords long gone for knowledge or even just as a test of strength.'

'So they built the tomb on a planet and then scooped it out and hid it here?' asked Winn.

'Sounds excessive,' Mainwaring commented. 'Mad religions can do anything if they have enough motivation.'

'They are not mad,' Winn said defensively. 'On Bajor we do everything we can to respect our dead. If I was her, I'd have done the same.'

'Hang on,' said Woods and she looked at Kruge with concern. 'You said Sith went into tombs to test their strength.'

And so she saw his face darken with realisation.

'I did.'

_SO THERE IS ONE AMONG YOU WITH WISDOM._

At the thundering woman's voice calling through the tomb everyone raised their weapons, ready to face this danger.

'Who's there!' shouted Winn.

_THIS IS MY TOMB! THIS IS MY DOMAIN!_

'Tell us your name,' Woods said calmly, aiming her phaser at anything close by.

_DARTH IMPERTA! LORD OF THE SITH!_

'How are you still alive?' asked Mainwaring. 'Are you an AI?'

_HA. AN AI? YOU MISTAKE ME FOR A MERE DROID! I LED THE ARMIES OF THE SITH IN MANY CONQUESTS ACROSS THE GALAXY AND YOU CALL ME AN AI. YOU SPEAK TO DARTH IMPERTA HERSELF. MY ESSENCE REMAINS HERE FOREVER._

'How?' Woods whispered to Kruge.

'You've used the Force to keep your mind alive?' he asked Imperta.

_WELL DONE._

'We are not here to fight you, or to steal from you. We just want to leave.'

_IN THAT CASE, PROVE THAT YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO LEAVE. MY ACOLYTES SHALL TEST YOU._

At her words panels opened in the walls close to them and from them emerged the stuff of nightmares. Corpses, dried out and mummified, with cybernetics fitted to their limbs, each one carrying a long blade, advanced on the group.

'Pull back!' Winn shouted and started firing his phaser, tearing apart several of them.

Woods started running, firing at them as she went with her phaser pistol. As the phasers hit them they burst apart but there were so many of them. Woods looked over her shoulder to see the corridor packed with hundreds of them. Kruge was firing his large pistols into them, killing many, but one of Winn's marines was pulled into the mass and torn to shreds by the corpses. They turned a corner and everyone ran as fast as they could.

…

'So they're trapped in a tomb,' said Sunik as he followed Lewis into his ready room. 'It sounds like the start of one of your old pulp horror novels.'

'I still can't believe how much time I wasted reading them,' the captain responded as he stood by the replicator. 'Hot chocolate, large, no cream.'

When the large glass cup materialised he took it and enjoyed a long sip from it.

'Either way, I have assembled an engineering team. When Commander Woods is able to bring down the shields, they can deal with opening the door.'

'I just wish,' Lewis said as he sat down, 'we could talk to her.'

'As do I. While Commander Lewis and I are not exactly friends, she is a useful member of the crew.'

'Vital. Now, is Wilson leading the mission himself?'

'He demanded that he leads it.'

'Good. Just make sure he gets her and the others out of there safe and sound.'

'I do not intend to allow members of our crew to die.'

…

Woods and the others tumbled into a room, the corpses right behind them, and Kruge found a switch next to it, shutting the door behind them before firing a shot into the controls, sealing the door shut.

'That should buy us some time,' he said, getting his breath back.

'And you've trapped us!' Mainwaring shouted at him. 'You trapped us in a pyramid with a horde of zombies!'

'We need to rest,' she said and then looked at the gathered crew who made it in.

They were all there, except for both of the marines who had been killed in the chase. Winn's space suit had also been damaged in the fight, the arm torn open revealing his uniform beneath it. The room they were in was relatively plain without much decoration, except for a single carving of a Human skeleton made of a wall above a table. There was also another door which was closed already.

'Winn,' Woods said at last, 'secure the other door. Don't trap us in.'

'Understood.'

'Mister Kruge,' she then said to him, 'I need intel. Who the Hell was Darth Imperta?'

'She was a Sith lord,' he answered. 'Many of the records on the Sith were restricted when I was at the academy but I know enough.'

'Then give me a lesson.'

'She wasn't exaggerating. Darth Imperta led the Sith forces at the Battle of Norvon A. They attacked the planet and massacred its defenders before moving on to the civilians. They killed the old and the disabled, forced the rest into slavery.'

'My God. How is she still talking to us?'

'The Sith never liked the fact that their power ended when they died. Darth Imperta must have used some sort of sorcery to keep her essence living on inside of the tomb.'

'Sorcery?' she asked him, not caring if she came off as rude. 'Are you mad?'

'Not at all. The Sith had incredible powers, I wouldn't put it past them to find a way to keep their minds alive. There's a good reason why the Republic banned us from looking into these tombs without,' he then stopped himself, 'without specialist support.'

'You expect me to believe that this woman was a witch?'

'She was a Sith.'

'You do realise that all those stories are just that, stories. Made up over the years to scare children.'

'If you'd have seen the things I've seen then you'd know how dangerous the Sith were, and still are.'

'You mean there are more of these Sith out there?'

'At least one.'

'And what proof do you have that we've been dealing with an undead entity instead of a computer programme?'

'I can't say,' he said gravely, 'but just trust me, we are dealing with the mind of a Sith Lord.'

_A TRULY INTELLIGENT MAN._

Everyone aimed their weapons out, forming into a circle in the middle of the room.

'Thank you,' Kruge answered, trying to not show his fear.

_THE SITH BELIEVE IN STRENGTH, NOT JUST STRENGTH OF BODY BUT STRENGTH OF SPIRIT. YOU SURVIVED MY ACOLYTE'S ATTACK, CONGRATULATIONS, IN SO DOING YOU PROVED THE STRENGTH OF YOUR BODIES._

'Just unlock the door and let us out!' shouted Winn.

_NO. I WILL POWER DOWN MY TOMBS SHIELDS UNDER ONE CONDITION, YOU PROVE THE STRENGTH OF YOUR SPIRITS._

'How?' Woods asked the voice.

_ENTER THE NEXT ROOM. IN THERE YOU WILL FACE YOUR DEMONS. SURVIVE AND YOU WILL LEAVE, FAIL, AND JOIN THE RANKS OF MY LEGION._

The other door opened and everyone looked at Woods who, for a moment, wished she wasn't First Officer.

'Alright,' she said loudly, hoping the voice could still hear her. 'We'll do it.'

'Commander,' said Mainwaring, 'I advise against this. If we go through there we could suffer serious psychological damage.'

'I know the risk,' she answered. 'We have no choice though. We can't fight those monsters behind us. Our only option is to go forwards. Good luck.'

Everyone looked at each other for a moment before Woods took the first step, followed at once by Kruge and Winn as they entered a dark chamber and then the nightmare began.


	4. Chapter 4

Star Trek Bonaparte

I own nothing but my OC's

Episode Two

Nightmares in a Cloud

Chapter Four

Woods was in a vast space, endless distances in every direction but there were no lights and nothing to see. There was just nothing for every direction. Spinning on the spot, turning her head in every direction, there was nothing.

No, there, she saw something. A form in the distance.

'Hello?' Woods loudly asked, trying to get their attention as she began to ran towards it.

'I'm busy,' a voice answered back. A young voice at that. The voice of a child.

Woods quickly advanced towards the figure which, as she got closer, as the figure became easier to see, she realised was a child sitting at a desk. She was a girl, her hair in a simple braid, and several data pads in front of her.

'Are you okay?' she asked the girl.

'I'm busy,' she shot back, not even looking over her shoulder.

'Are you actually coming to sit at the table today?' an older voice asked from somewhere close by.

'I'm busy mom,' the child asked and, to Woods's shock, she said the same thing, at the same time.

She looked again at the girl and, slowly, dreading what she would see, walked around the girl in front of the desk so she could see the child's face. Not just the child's face, her own face. It was her, the girl was her, thirteen years old.

'I'm busy,' young Jessica angrily told her, still not looking up from the pad she was reading. 'Go away.'

_STRANGE ISN'T IT?_

Woods spun around on her heel, there was no one behind her, and then she spun back to see that the thirteen year old her was gone as well. She was alone again.

'What's strange?'

_YOU HAVE DONE SO MUCH BUT YOU'VE HAD NO ONE TO SHARE IT WITH._

'I have friends.'

_CREW MEMBERS, NOTHING MORE. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SPOKE TO YOUR PARENTS._

'They don't want to speak to me.'

_THEY WOULD IF YOU DIDN'T DRIVE THEM AWAY._

'They drove me away. I wanted to be in Starfleet, I wanted my own command, I didn't have time for anything else.'

_I THOUGHT THE SAME. THE DRIVE FOR POWER, TO NEVER BE VULNRABLE, IT LED TO MY DEFEAT._

'It's not power I want!'

_CALL IT WHAT YOU LIKE BUT IT IS STILL POWER. BEING CAPTAIN OF A STARSHIP OR A LORD OF THE SITH, IT'S ALL ABOUT POWER._

'I don't want power, I want to do my duty to the Federation.'

_I KNOW YOU DO, YOU WANT POWER TO DO YOUR DUTY. TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE WILL HAVE TO SUFFER YOUR FATHER'S FATE._

Suddenly there was an explosion and Woods was somewhere familiar, Star Fleet Command in San Francisco. There were bodies on the floor, men and women dressed in their uniforms with the blue shirts of the science division. A phaser blast tore past her head, fried by a security officer with a rifle, she followed the beam with her eyes to see it strike a Breen soldier who went flying into a wall from the impact.

Woods looked at the bodies on the floor and she recognised one of them, a man with the same nose shape as hers, and it took all her effort to hold back her tears of sorrow.

_I DON'T KNOW IF THE BREEN WERE BRAVE OR MAD TO LAUNCH THAT ATTACK ON EARTH._

She was back in the empty space.

'Why did you show me that?' she hissed.

_BECAUSE YOU NEEDED TO SEE IT. YOU NEEDED TO SEE YOUR FATHER WHEN HE FELL IN BATTLE._

'I didn't want to see him like that!'

_YOU HAD TO. ADMIT IT, ALL YOUR LIFE YOU HAVE FELT WEAK, USELESS KNOWING THAT HE DIED IN A POINTLESS ATTACK THAT HE WASN'T READY FOR._

'He was a scientist!'

_AND YOU ARE NOT. AT THE ACADEMY YOU SPECIALISED IN COMBAT TRAINING._

'Because the Federation faces threats from every side! The Dominion nearly wiped us out, why wouldn't I be ready to fight?'

_SO YOU WOULDN'T BE POWERLESS._

'To protect the people of the Federation.'

_SEEKING POWER TO PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE._

'It wasn't for power. It never was.'

_WHY ARE YOU ASHAMED THAT YOU SOUGHT POWER TO PROTECT? IT'S NOBLE, IT'S HONOURABLE. IT'S THE WAY OF THE SITH._

She had no answer to that, she had no response that could stand up to this ancient being. There could only be one.

'Fine. Power, that's what I wanted. I want power, I want to stop something like the Dominion threatening my people again. I admit it! I seek power to protect!'

…

Mainwaring found herself in a smoke filled room, green light trying to push through bathing everything in a sicky glow. Holding back her fear with all her strength, Mainwaring walked forwards but tripped over something, crashing into the ground which, for some reason, was soft.

_Why can't I see? _Mainwaring thought as she waved her hand in front of her face to clear the smoke only to wish she didn't as she screamed at the sight. She wasn't walking along a normal surface, the whole ground was covered in bodies, men, women and children, young and old, and they were all still alive. Great wounds in their bodies, blood pouring from gashes and burns across their skin, old scars from terrible wounds were tearing open and all these people were in pain, terrible pain.

'I'm a doctor,' she said, overwhelmed by what she saw.

She reached for her tricorder and she scanned the closest person, a girl of about fifteen with burns across her face and scalp. Instead of stating her condition, the device flashed red several times, each light hurting her eyes.

'Just work damnit!'

A vice like grip caught her hand and she screamed as she felt her wrist snap apart. The hand gripping her wrist was female, the flesh deathly white and a metal framework covered it. With terror she looked up at the face and her screams became so terrible that they made her throat feel as if it was being attacked with sandpaper. The woman was wearing a full bodysuit made of black armour, her skin grey and her right eye covered by a bright red mechanical one, glowing down at her, and her mouth, which was perfect for singing the sweetest of lullabies, was clamped shut with a black mechanical rebreather.

The Borg gripped her wrist harder and Mainwaring's tears flowed from her eyes.

'Mom,' she begged the Borg. 'Please no! Please stop!'

'You will be assimilated,' she stated before picking her up and throwing her through the air.

Mainwaring crashed into a wall and then she fell to the cold metal floor. She was no longer on the mess of bodies, now she was in a Borg ship, the room with no features except for a table in the middle, a surgical table. Worse though, a Borg, her mother, was standing by the table.

'Prepare for assimilation,' the Borg said, the voice totally mechanical, lacking any kindness or joy, just a statement of fact, and it was terrible.

'No! Mom, please, it's me. It's Emily, please remember me!'

'Prepare for assimilation,' her mother repeated and advanced on Mainwaring.

Mainwaring tried to run when her mother grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her by her broken wrist towards the table.

'Stop! Please, for goodness sake, don't!'

Mainwaring was quickly strapped down not the table as her mother aimed her hand at her neck, the two tubes shot out into her neck and the pain was terrible as she felt the nanoprobes coursing through her veins. She knew her skin was starting to turn grey as her blood was being corrupted and it hurt, it hurt so much as she felt Borg devices popping out of her skin.

'New Drone designated 4 of 10, maintenance drone,' she stated with no emotion, only efficiency. 'Beginning full assimilation process.'

'Please,' she pleaded with what was left of her individuality, tears in her eyes. 'Don't.'

Without any response, her mother turned away and left the chamber as mechanical arms descended from the ceiling and began to circle over her.

All she could do was scream as the cutting tools went down to her hands and sliced them off, her cries of agony and terror only growing worse as mechanical implements were fused to her flesh, each one ending in a cutting took, the devices of an engineer, not a healer.

_YOU FEAR THAT WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE._

'You torture me for no reason.'

_EVERYTHING I DO HAS A REASON, YOU'RE JUST TOO BLINDED TO SEE IT._

'Then why did you show me my mom?'

_BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO PROPERLY LOOK AT HER DEATH. YOU REMEMBER WHEN SHE LEFT HOME?_

'Of course I do. She was so happy, a crewmember of the Enterprise E, serving under Starfleet's finest captain.'

_AN ENGINEER, KEEPING THE FEDERATION'S FINEST SHIP RUNNING. THEN THE BORG CAME FOR HER. IF THEY HAD SUCCEEDED NO DOUBT SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A FINE DRONE._

'How dare you?' she shouted, biting back the pain throughout her body. 'She was a kind woman and they killed her, stripped her of her soul and made her a monster.'

_HER DEATH GAVE YOU STRENGTH. I THINK THAT'S WORTH THE TRADE OFF._

'I lost my mother, I lost the best friend I ever had thanks to the Borg. I lost everything to them.'

_THEY GAVE YOU STRENGTH. HER DEATH INSPIRED YOU TO GREATNESS, TO BE STRONG. THAT'S WHY YOU BECAME A DOCTOR._

Suddenly the pain was gone, her hands returned and she was standing up in the corridors of Starfleet Medical.

'I became a Doctor to help people.'

_DID YOU REALLY? ARE YOU SURE IT WASN'T SO YOU COULD NEVER FEEL WEAK AND HELPLESS AGAIN, LIKE YOU DID WHEN YOU SAW WHAT THE BORG HAD DONE TO HER?_

'Shut up!' she shouted, her voice growing painful as she tried to beat down the argument of this ancient being of incredible power.

_EVERY MOMENT IN OUR LIVES, EVERY DEATH AND EVERY BIRTH MATTERS, IT SHAPES US, MAKES US STRONGER. WE ARE VERY MUCH ALIKE._

'You expect me to believe we're like each other? You've tortured us since the moment we got here, you trapped us in your tomb and killed two of our men. I am nothing like you.'

Suddenly everything around her changed, instead of the clean, orderly corridor she was in a battlefield, all around her bolts of red and blue energy were tearing through the air while soldiers in white armour fought against those in black while robe figures duelled with blades of shining light, red, green and red. Suddenly a man in light brown robes fell dead next to Mainwaring who quickly stepped away as the mans killer moved onto the next one.

It was her, Darth Imperta, clad in black robes, a cloak billowing off her shoulders and her jet black hair hanging past her shoulders. In her right hand she gripped onto a silver hilt from which emitted a crimson blade which matched the colour of her eyes.

'Force the Jedi back!' she shouted to her followers and advanced on another man in brown robes, this one armed with a blue blade.

They exchanged some blows before, to Mainwaring's shock, Imperta unleashed a storm of energy into the man, bolts of blue lightning leaping with sadistic joy from her finger tips into the man, causing him pure agony and, with all her heart, Mainwaring wished she could help him, do anything to prevent his pain. Imperta slashed her blade across the man's chest, killing him with a single blow. The enemies, "Jedi" she believed, were in full retreat now and Imperta deactivated her weapon, hooking it to her belt.

'Lord Imperta,' a soldier armed with some sort of rifle said as he ran to her.

'What is it?' she lazily asked him.

'Lord Krimon is injured.'

The look of fear on the Sith's face was something Mainwaring didn't think she'd ever see on that cruel, austere face. Imperta raced in a single direction, knocking aside her followers and Mainwaring followed until the Sith knelt in the dirt next to a man, dressed in black robes and his skin unusually pale, but Imperta clutched his gloved hands while a medic tried to treat a burn in his chest probably from some type of energy weapon.

'How is he?' Imperta snapped at the surgeon.

'There's not much chance,' he answered. 'If we get him back to base he could make it but,' he stopped for a moment, clearly afraid of what his words might result in, 'but I don't think he'll survive the journey.'

Imperta looked down at the man and then at the surgeon before reaching out her hand and with a gesture snapping the neck of a nearby Sith, drawing a cloud of black energy gushing out of his eyes and mouth which poured into the form of Lord Krimon.

'Check him again.'

The surgeon did so and nodded at the results.

'He's much more stable. He'll survive until we get back to base.'

'Then get him there you fool!'

Again Mainwaring was in a boundless void with the only company being the voice of Darth Imperta.

_AM I NOT A GREAT HEALER? HAVE I NOT SAVED LIVES?_

'You killed so someone else could live.'

_SO MY BEST LIEUTENANT COULD LIVE. SO MY HUSBAND COULD LIVE. TELL ME, AS A DOCTOR, WHO WOULD YOU TREAT? AN ENSIGN OR YOUR CAPTAIN?_

She didn't answer, she couldn't answer.

_YOU KNOW THE TRUTH IN YOUR HEART. THAT IS ENOUGH FOR ME, DOCTOR. WELL DONE._

…

Woods staggered out of the chamber and fell to her hands and knees. Again she was inside an empty room, the walls covered in carvings of that terrible woman.

'Bloody egotist,' she growled as she tried to push herself up.

From the door behind her was thrown out Mainwaring, tears visibly coming from her eyes, but she was able to stay standing.

'Doctor are you alright?'

'I'll be fine,' she said and slowly walked away from her, clearly wanting to be alone.

There was a whooshing sound from behind her and Winn staggered into the room, covering his face with his hands and his whole body shaking for a moment until he stood still and stood up tall.

'Commander,' he said, his tone even and his eyes empty.

'Are you alright?'

'Not bad.'

'What did you see?'

'I'd rather keep that to myself.'

Armando Kruge was then thrown into the room, his expression angry, hate in his eyes and his pistols drawn.

'If she was still alive I'd kill her myself!' he roared.

'Calm down,' Woods told him and put her hand on his shoulder, worried that he might tear her hand off.

For a few moments he breathed heavily until Armando had calmed down and then walked away from the room they had just been in.

'What did you see?' she asked him.

'My sister,' he said and shook his head, not saying anything else.

_WELL DONE ALL OF YOU._

'What do you want now?' Mainwaring hissed.

_TO LET YOU OUT. ALL THE DEFENCES HAVE BEEN LOWERED AND MY ACOLYTES HAVE RETURNED TO THEIR TOMBS. YOU'VE DONE WELL. YOU MAKE FINE STARFLEET OFFICERS, AND IF YOU HAD THE FORCE, YOU WOULD HAVE MADE FINE SITH._

…

'First Officers personal log, star date supplemental. We have returned to the Bonaparte and we have gone through psychological examinations. I have booked in an appointment with the counsellor for tomorrow but I think I will be fine.'

After making her log entry she went to Captain Lewis's ready room for their meeting. He sat there with his mug of hot chocolate as he went through the data pad again.

'Well, this is troubling to say the least.'

'I know it is.'

'I talked to Kruge and he's given me all the information he has on the Force and this organisation, the Sith. He believes that Emperor Palpatine may be one of them.'

'That's not comforting.'

'I know it isn't. If we have any future dealing with Force users we should be as careful as possible.'

'I agree. To be honest, we should try to avoid them.'

'Not completely. Now, we'll be heading to the Tennin System next, we have a possible transport contract there.'

'Good,' she said, not trying to think about what she had seen.

**AN: Sorry about how long this took but it's exam time at uni. I've managed to get this done and I hope you all enjoyed it. Join us next time for another adventure of the Starship Bonaparte.**

**Also, I would like to thank killgore444 for adding the first issue of this series to the community 'The wonders of completion.' Thank you and I hope you enjoy this story as well.**


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